There is a need in the art for devices for holding a flat ring, such as a gasket or washer or the like, in place for installation of the flat ring at the end of a cylindrical body, such as a tube. Typical to such installations is the location of a gasket to seal between the juncture of tubing joints. The proper location and positioning of such gaskets is particularly important in applications such as ultra-high vacuum systems.
Ultra-high vacuum systems are generally assembled from metal tubes connected with ConFlat or CF type flanges and soft usually metal gaskets, typically made of copper. The flanges incorporate knife edges which bite into the copper gaskets, forming a continuous metal envelope for the vacuum system. CF flanges are sexless with both abutting flanges being identical.
The seal structure is a knife-edge that is machined below the flat surface of the flange. Bolts are used to tighten the flange pair together. As the bolts of the flange pair are tightened, the knife-edges make annular grooves on each side of the soft metal gasket. The extruded metal fills all the machining marks and surface defects in the flange, yielding a leak-tight seal.
When assembling these systems, it is essential that the gasket be properly seated in the flange. If this is not done, a leak will form at that location, preventing the vacuum system from reaching its desired pressure.
Under certain circumstances, it can be very difficult to accomplish this. For example, when connecting two horizontal sections of pipe, the gasket must be placed on the knife edge of one flange, and then the second flange brought close enough so that its knife edge also touches the gasket to hold it in place while the flanges are bolted together. With the flanges in this configuration, the distance between them is much smaller than a person's fingers or most tools. And yet before the flanges are brought to this configuration, fingers or tools are needed to hold the gasket in place. Accordingly, the gasket often falls out of position as the flanges are brought together, leading to much frustration and lost time in the assembly of vacuum systems.
The present invention addresses the foregoing issues and advantageously provides a tool for positioning a flat ring for installation of the flat ring at the end of a cylindrical body. The tool is particularly useful for the installation of gaskets between CF flanges. The tool is configured as a collar that is placed around one of the flanges, with fingers that extend to contact the outer rim of the gasket. The collar is placed around the flange, and the fingers hold the gasket in place until the second flange is moved into position and is bolted finger-tight to the first flange. At this point, the two flanges hold the gasket in place, and the collar is removed.
In addition, there is frequently a need to attach additional components, such as temperature gauges, lights, and optical components, to the outside of vacuum systems. It is often desired that these components be attached for long periods of time, but also to retain the ability to quickly move them to a different location on the vacuum system. Accordingly, a device adapted for convenient and reliable mounting of implements, such as temperature gauges and the like is desired.
The present invention addresses this need by providing a flexible implement positioner securably positionable about a juncture of two abutting tubes having abutting flanges. The implement positioner is lockably installable around the abutting flanges of the abutting tubes. The positioner includes one or more implement mounts located to enable an implement received by an implement mount to be desirably positioned at the joint between the abutting flanges.
The implement positioner may also eb configured for placement at other locations along a tube, and not at a joint to enable desired positioning of implements along a tube or the like.